Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

A New Fight For Returning Soldiers

News4's Seth Lemon explores how one local company is trying to combat the high unemployment rate for military veterans. (Published Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012)

Troops coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq are used to fighting in combat. But many can’t find jobs. Though many have been trained in a craft or trade, they aren’t always ready for the fight to get back into the civilian job market.

Started by former Marine Nick Baucom in 2008, Two Marines Moving began an initiative on September 23, 2012 to combat unemployment among military veterans in the Washington area.

Baucom says many veterans don’t realize that the skills they acquire on the battlefield can translate to the office.

“It’s attention to detail,” says Baucom. “That has been drilled in me as a Marine so many times. If I did something wrong [in the service], it literally could cost someone’s life.”

In March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment for veterans was 12.1 percent in 2011. The Two Marines Moving initiative, called “Hire 50 Vets – 50 Days,” is aiming to place at least 50 veterans in work by the Veterans Day holiday.